LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Pension Insurance Corporation and Legal & General were the largest players in the UK bulk annuity market in the first half of 2017, consultants Aon Hewitt said on Monday.

PIC wrote 1.9 billion pounds ($2.45 billion) of the deals, which involve taking on the risk of some or all of a company defined benefit, or final salary, pension scheme. L&G wrote 1.5 billion, Aon Hewitt said in a report.

The total market was 5.1 billion pounds in the first half, with the 2017 total likely to exceed 10.2 billion written in 2016, the firm said.

UK companies are looking at ways to cut the risks of these schemes, many of which are in deficit. ($1 = 0.7770 pounds) (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)